Sharpening the pencils

Along the way, Jason Catifeoglou (pictured) joined the pair as a third partner, bringing operations and development experience at boutique hotels and larger players such as IHG. “He definitely made us sharpen the pencils!” says Benyan in characteristic humour.

They have also managed to branch out of London – just – with the opening in January of a Grain Store at Gatwick, so now those travelling through the South Terminal can get a flavour of how they do things. But what is that flavour? And how have these guys managed to develop the Midas touch?

Of course they have worked with the right people – Conigliaro and Loubet have become two of the biggest stars of London’s food and drink scene and Russell Sage, the interior design studio they have worked with for their townhouses and Grain Store, is in high-demand too.

Sense of daring

But they are innovative thinkers too. As Benyan says: “None of our projects are the same – we are very opportunistic in how we do things. To us, it’s not about insisting we must get to 10 hotels or whatever, or always doing the same thing. We will look at any buildings that have space for up to 150 rooms really, and if a 1950s or 1960s office block came up tomorrow I know exactly what I would do with it. Ideally though, townhouse projects are great for us for now.”

And they have always had a sense of daring.

“As Zetter Group, we’re way more drawn to areas kind of before they get up and running – that’s where we love to be. One of our strengths is identifying a ruby in the dust. We would never really want to do something on an obvious high street or in an area that is ‘there’ already,” Benyan says.

“London continues to excite us. Fifteen years ago, Clerkenwell was nothing, 10 years ago, Shoreditch was nothing – same with Bermondsey, look at that now. We’d do a hotel there tomorrow if we could. And of course what’s happening in Kings Cross is amazing. Even look at Victoria, that’s another area back on the up. There’s a huge opportunity there with what Grosvenor is doing.”

Neighbourhood watch

Land Securities is carrying out a £2 billion, 2.2 million sq ft development transformation, including new residential space, contemporary office areas, a new retail heart – and the kind of project that would easily suit a Zetter-shaped project.

“If we ever did open a hotel in Victoria it wouldn’t be right there in front of the station, it would be tucked away around a corner somewhere. Even working with Portman Estate on the new Townhouse in Marylebone – yes it has a real neighbourhood-village feel and is a kind of known area, but they also wanted us to help lift the area.”

So it seems London has enough opportunities for them for now. But Benyan says he would be tempted by opening something in his native Australia.

“I’m from Melbourne and it’s where I often go back to for a family holiday – and for a hotel opening, Melbourne and Sydney are very appealing,” he says. “I often get asked where to stay in both cities, and there is actually a huge gap for something quirky in the way we do things. And selfishly for me, it would be fantastic.”

And they've contemplated other dream projects – maybe New York; maybe a Zetter ski chalet. “Maybe some nice island resorts,” Benyan and Catifeoglou both laugh.

People power

The existing hotels do well he says because of the heavy emphasis on the staff and their offer of warm service.

“We focus on hiring personalities. It’s nice to have a collection of weird and wonderful people; everyone makes a contribution here and service is the most commented-on piece of feedback,” Benyan says. “It’s all about welcoming someone into your home; there’s absolutely no room for a pompous attitude – my motto is that it should be about hospitality not hostility; you need to be a good host. It doesn’t matter if you design things that have a wow factor; without the warmth and the hospitality of the staff it’s a hollow experience.”

Staff are also motivated by a new profit-share programme introduced by Zetter Group in 2014, which paid out its first lump sums to staff last year; paying those eligible almost an extra two weeks’ worth of salary each. It is the first of its kind in the hospitality industry, according to the firm, and was inspired by the John Lewis Partnership.

Catifeoglou says: “We had been thinking about it for a few years then I coincidentally sat with someone from John Lewis on jury duty for two weeks! So I came back and said we needed to get on with it. We give staff a quarterly update on the business and it means they have a vested interest in success.”

“Staff are genuinely pleased and take a real interest in the business,” adds Benyan. “Plus there’s lots of other benefits too – I don’t think staff quite absorb all we offer when they have their induction!”

Telling tales

But along with being daring enough to open in places that are beyond the obvious, working with the right stars of the drinks, dining and design worlds and recruiting the right people to give great service – it’s their slightly crazy sense of whimsy and storytelling that wins people over.

The Zetter Townhouse Marylebone opened last August with 24 rooms; previously it was a hotel in a Georgian townhouse, but had to be ripped out and restarted. There’s little more on its list of facilities than its wonderfully-designed rooms and a cocktail lounge, but it’s all about the back story on this little place on Seymour Street.

The feel of each townhouse evolves from constructing a character, with design and ethos following on from there - the Zetter Townhouse Clerkenwell is known as the home of Zetter’s Great Aunt Wilhelmina, while the Marylebone property is – in theory – the home of Wicked Uncle Seymour.

Benyan’s tales of how Seymour the English eccentric went off on a Grand Tour of Europe, collecting curios as he went, almost has me believing he was a real person. In fact, an actual person very much like this piqued Benyan’s interest - Sir John Soane.

The adventurous 19th-century British architect insisted his entire house be left as it was when he died 180 years ago and thanks to that wish, the Sir John Soane Museum – located not that far from their Clerkenwell roots – is pretty much how he left it, thankfully for Benyan in his constant search for inspiration. Wherever that might take him.